I Made the Viral Barbie Pasta and My Dinner Dreams Came True

It's official: We too have succumbed to Barbie mania. With Greta Gerwig's highly-anticipated Barbie movie coming to theaters on July 21st, everything is coming up Barbiecore. There's clothing and makeup, of course, but companies like Cold Stone Creamery, Krispy Kreme and Burger King have also jumped on the Barbie bandwagon, with Barbie-themed cakes, doughnuts and burgers.

And then there are the viral recipes, like the Barbie shake, a Barbie pool cake that’s all over TikTok, and a Barbie-inspired pasta that immediately caught my eye. As a Barbie, beets and anything pink, I was on board from the start.

In case I needed any more encouragement to try the recipe, I was able to snag a bag of pasta from the limited-edition Barbie di Pasta Di Martino collection (available at Whole Foods), which meant that both the pasta and sauce would be Barbie-rific. Here's how it went when I tried the trendy recipe at home.

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What is Barbie Pasta?

There are many different variations of this pasta floating around TikTok. The basic recipe is the pasta of your choice, some type of dairy (Greek yogurt, ricotta feta) and roasted beets (to make it all pink, of course). Toss in some salt, pepper and bright herbs and you’ve got yourself a dinner worthy of serving in the Barbie dream house.

Related: ‘I Tried Starbucks' New Barbie Drink and All of My Childhood Dreams Came Alive After One Sip’

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How Do You Make Barbie Pasta?

I used a pound of Pastificio DiMartino's Barbie Pennette Rigate, which is a super cute tiny-cut pasta, half of a 16 oz. container of whole milk ricotta and two medium-sized beets. While the pasta water came to a boil, I roasted my diced beets in the air fryer at 380 degrees for about 10 minutes. I blended the beets with the ricotta, added some pasta water, salt and pepper and blended until smooth. I poured the sauce into a pan along with the al dente pasta and warmed the whole thing up. After plating, I decided to garnish with a dollop of ricotta, some fresh thyme and edible pink glitter (because, why not?) before digging in.

Related: Fans Have a Lot of Thoughts About Burger King's Limited Edition 'Barbie' Pink Burger

My Honest Review of Barbie Pasta

Believe it or not, you can’t really taste the beets, which is good news for beet haters. Well, let me back up a bit. The more beets you add to your sauce, the more vivid the color will be and the more it will taste like beets. So if you're a regular Dwight Schrute, load up that sauce, but if you're not a fan, start small.

You only need a few beets to get the pop of pink anyway. I’m all about the beets, so I used two medium-sized roasted beets for a supersaturated color. The sauce was earthy and creamy and almost begged for the addition of complementary flavors, such as roasted mushrooms and thyme, which would’ve been delicious on top. Combined with the ricotta, it was a pretty basic sauce and super easy for a fun weeknight meal. The tubular shape of the pasta trapped just the right amount of peppy pink sauce.

Tips for Making Barbie Pasta Even Better

• Cook your own beets. Don't make the same mistake I did and think I outsmarted everyone on TikTok by buying the already peeled and steamed beets from Trader Joe’s. If you use those beets, your sauce will come out brown. Freshly cooked beets are the way to go here.

• Grab some gloves. Make sure to use gloves when handling beets and watch your surfaces (and clothing) as beets stain everything in the most terrible way.

• Play around with the dairy. I saw TikTokers making this recipe with Greek yogurt, cream cheese and feta, but anything could work here (especially goat cheese since goat cheese and beets are a classic combo). For a dairy-free version, you could use  vegan ricotta or soft tofu.

• Save your pasta water. Don't forget to add some pasta water to your sauce as you blend (I added just under half a cup to mine). Pasta water is liquid gold in the cooking world. The starchiness of the water helps make your sauce smooth and silky.

Now that know how to make Barbie pasta at home, get ready to whip up a plate in time for Margot Robbie's Barbie debut next week!

Next: OK, Wait a Minute—How Old Is Barbie, Exactly?